India’s lower house of parliament has passed a Bill which will
facilitate the growth of e-commerce in the country. This followed
the government’s decision to reject a controversial proposal for a
change in the Bill which called for a policing of cybercafes, their
visitors and the sites visited.
IT Minister Pramod Mahajan told parliament that he expects 35%
of the country’s 1 billion population to have internet access in
about 3 years and added that this would cover more people than have
access in the US.
At present, India has less than 1 million internet connections,
but each connection services about 4 users.
The Bill, if passed in its present form, will enable the
acceptance of electronic records and digital signatures in
government offices and agencies.
More controversially, the Bill also gives the police power to
search any public place and arrest without warrant anyone suspected
of having committed a cybercrime.
The next stage for the Bill is the upper house, although it is
expected that there will be little or no resistance.
